Tales from the Borderlands: A Telltale Forum Story
by Emporer339
Summary: Follow Rhys, Sasha, Fiona, Vaughn and Loader bot on an all new adventure in the pandoran wastelands as they uncover a new dastardly plot that could shake the very core of the universe! I'm sorry to say that I've been alerted that this type of story (script format/choices) is against the rules, so it is discontinued on the site. I'm continuing on Quotev.
1. Chapter 1

**So this is a little different from what I normally do (which is to write a fanfiction straight onto this website. Instead, this is a project, I and another member of the Rhysha thread in Telltale's community (I'm sure you're familiar of multiple writers working together at this point, unless your not, in which case... now you know!).**

 **The original of this chapter is on page 115 of the official Rhysha thread.**

 **If you want to see it in all it's glory (with the images we made for it) then please head over to page 115 of the Rhysha thread. I'll link the images here, but I dunno if that'll work. Yeah it doesn't work. They purge all the links. I could just cut up the links, but I'd prefer to be careful incase there is a serious reason they block links. If you wanna see all the images, find the original please.  
**

 **In this story we let the forum members vote on what choices Rhys and Fiona make at the end of each chapter (much like you make choices in the game). I hope we successfully recreate this feeling of choice, and that you enjoy this tale from us.**

* * *

 **Act 1 - "The Deal"**

 **Chapter 1 - "Magazines"**

Hello, ladies and gentlemen. How are you? I hope you're great! I'm very excited to present you the first chapter of our fanfiction, **Tales from the Borderlands: A Telltale Forum Story**. I hope you all enjoy it as much as we enjoyed creating it, and from now on, we shall use our official logo to announce our presence! (so you would know which comments to check on).

Another little detail: before every choice, we'll use certain pictures to show who's making the choice. It will be Rhys or Fiona most of the time, or the whole squad.

* * *

So, without further adieu, I leave you with:

Act 1 - "The Deal" Chapter 1 - "Magazines"

Marcus: _work you damn piece of_ … _I won't give a refund to that guy, oh no, I never give refunds_ … Oh hello. Didn't notice you all standing there. What's that? Oh? So you want to hear another story, eh?. You want to follow your favorite rag-tag team's story, isn't that right? I thought so.

Well then, make yourselves comfortable, lay back and dive right in the adventure you chose yourselves. Remember, no backsies! Once you start, you will have to remain in your seats and watch the adventure until the very end. I'm a little foggy on some of the details, though, so you'll have to fill me in on those points.

Now go, go, sit, I will join you soon. Want some tea? Haha, want all you want, should've brought your own. _throws the broken gun away_

Settled in nicely? Good, very good. Now, on our hands we have… What are their names again? Ah, yes – Rhys, Fiona, Sasha, Vaughn and Loader-Bot. Two Hyperion drop-outs and two con-artists. My mistake, three Hyperion drop-outs.

It's a surprise this crew has survived for so long in the harsh, dangerous, terrible Pandoran lands. However, they've roamed the land for quite a long time, scavenging and outsmarting... or, eh... shooting their enemies. But this particular story starts in a very, very… peculiar situation.

"RUN!"

 **Rhys wasted no time getting up on his feet, dragging Vaughn with him. He pulled his long-time pal behind a huge rock, while Sasha and Fiona opened fire at the bandits in front of them. The deal did not go down as they had planned. Who could've guessed that insane, moronic bandits could actually recognize fake gun magazines? Especially when they're painted so beautifully…**

The Hyperion duo sheltered themselves from the ongoing bulletstorm with the huge rock being all that separated them from their inevitable bullet riddled future selves.

Vaughn: "Rhys, Loader-bot! Make him come and help us or we're done!"

Rhys: "Right, right, okay, I'm on it."

 **He charged up his remote Loader-Bot control screen from his arm, and passed his stun baton to Vaughn.**

Rhys: "Cover me, please. Just… try not to smack yourself with it, okay?"

Vaughn: "Yeah, yeah. I got it. I got it." **He extended the baton and took a quick look at it, mentally comparing it to the super lethal, deadly guns the bandits surely had.** "I think. Uh, Can you please hurry up with Loader bot?"

Rhys: "Come on, big guy. We need your help over here."

Loader-Bot: _From the digital screen_ "Righteous father, I will save you."

 **Rhys closed his little screen, and not even two seconds later he heard a big thump nearby.**

"Filthy bandits, scum of earth. Die." **Loader-Bot's voice reached Rhys's ears. He sighed with relief, before remembering that bullets were flying everywhere and would surely kill them should either of them even peek around the corner.**

 **On top of that, the girls were nowhere to be seen. He didn't want to risk sticking his head out from behind the rock to check for fear of becoming the next leading candidate for the swiss cheese costume convention…**

Rhys: "Vaughn, maybe we should go… find Sasha and Fiona?"

Vaughn: "What? Are you serious?! There's no way we can make it through this storm of bullets. We have to run back to the van and meet them there, that was the plan if this went wrong, remember?"

Rhys: "Okayy… I don't like this. Hey, mind giving me my baton back?"

Vaughn: "Then how am I supposed to protect myself?"

Rhys: "Oh, don't you worry. I will smack anyone who tries to touch us. Give 'em a taste of the ol' 10,000 volts"

Vaughn: "Rhys. You suck at fighting. Like, really. You really suck at fighting."

Rhys: "Alright. Let's just go, okay. On 3. One, two…"

 **Meanwhile, behind another rock…**

Sasha: "Fiona, do you see our boys? I'm running out of ammo and we NEED to get the hell out of here!"

Fiona: "Just keep shooting, sis'."

 **Sasha didn't respond verbally. Instead, she put another bullet into one of the bandits' heads, while Fiona was running out of options. She could either run with Sasha and meet their friends at the van, just like they planned; Or they could try finding them here and now…**

Sasha: "FI! What do we do?!"

Fiona: "…" **She grimaced. She wasn't sure what to do.**

 **Suddenly they heard a big thump nearby, followed by** "Filthy bandits, scum of earth. Die.".

Fiona: "Loader bot! It must've come for Rhys and Vaughn! Which means that we…"

Sasha: "RUN, the psychos are coming!"

 **Both girls broke out into a sprint, running headlong into a nearby maze of tents and little shelters, crafted from wood and what seemed to be (and smelled like) skag poop. After a few seconds, both of them were out of harm's way. However…**

"I WANT TO JUMP ON YOUR PARTY BALLS!" **Psychos were right on their tail. Without even turning around, Sasha started firing her last remaining shots at the incoming psychopaths. Even in this tricky maze of little tents, it was almost impossible to lose them.**

 **After seemingly hours of running through the never ending turns and twists, the duo suddenly ran into a small square, where it seemed their journey was at an end. Psychos were right around the corner, screaming and waving their weapons around in fits of never ending madness. Sasha turned to her sister and exclaimed:**

Sasha: "Over here! Let's go through this house! Run, Fi, run!"

 **Fiona shot a quick glimpse towards the so called house, which appeared to be no different from the rest of the poorly put together shacks that scattered the bandit camp, except for the presence of a second floor, that appeared to have been poorly attached to the ceiling of the first one, which already seemed to be collapsing under its own weight. It was a miracle the thing was still standing. However, despite the precarious situation that was to be inside a bandit's place of residence, if it could even be called that, there was no time to waste, and Fiona darted towards the door after Sasha, who already almost inside.**

 **Right when Fiona had entered the house, Sasha slammed the door shut and put her back to it.**

Sasha: "Quickly, sis', find something to barricade the door with!"

 **The instant Sasha finished her sentence, a Psycho slammed the door with his body, almost knocking her down to the floor. Fiona looked around the small room, which had a ton of useless crap scattered around, but nothing that could be used to block a door.**

Sasha: "Faster, Fi!"

 **The door behind Sasha's back was almost off its hinges, so Fiona really had to to something. She dashed to the far side of the room, where a huge pile of rubbish was lying on the ground. She started digging into it, throwing things aside – clothes, steel balls, empty magazines, pizza boxes, a somewhat questionable magazine… Finally she found a large, sturdy, metal rod, probably torn off some weapon in the past. Fiona turned around, only to see that Sasha was barely holding the door closed. She rushed forward and hastily jammed the rod up against the door, keeping it shut for the meantime.**

"MY TONGUE NEEDS LICKING OF WOMEN, OPEENNN!" **One of the Psychos from behind the door screamed.**

 **Sisters slowly backed away from the door, listening to Psychos repeatedly trying to knock it down.**

"COME BACK! I WANT TO GIVE YOU A NEW FACIAL ORIFACE!"

Sasha: "That was way too close. I don't know about you Fi, but I like my head where it is. Next time, let's not waltz straight into a camp full of crazy people who want to remove it."

Fiona: "Noted. This deal really didn't go to plan."

Sasha: "It rarely does, doesn't it?" _While looking around the room_ "You think they have some full magazines hidden somewhere? I'm running pretty low."

Fiona: "We don't have a lot of time."

Sasha: "What can I say? I like to keep my guns nice and full."

Fiona: "Well, it doesn't hurt to look around, but be quick. That big, metal thingy won't hold them forever. It's only a matter of time before they learn that swinging axes at doors tend to break them faster than just running into it."

Psycho: _(Behind the door)_ "Give me all of your YUMMY VITAMIN FILLED ORGANS!"

 **The two con-artists stared at the door for a moment before mentally aknowledging what awaited them if they took too long and got back to the matter at hand. While Sasha quickly ravaged whatever valuables there were in the room, Fiona climbed the stairway, leading to the second floor of this miserable bandit house.**

Sasha: "Hey, Be careful up there, okay. I'm coming in a second!"

 **Fiona saw nothing useful on the upper floor. Only some dirty rags, a few mattresses covered in blood and vomit and a huge Rakk head, mounted on the far wall. After peering around the room for a while, Fiona spotted something that wasn't initially obvious. A door, so thickly covered in dust dirt and grime that it was almost impossible to spot. Fiona approached it carefully, then put her ear near it. On the other side, surprisingly, it was quiet.**

Sasha: "Whatcha got?"

 **Fiona jumped from the door, turning around with an angry look on her face.**

Fiona: "Sasha, don't do that to me, please. You almost gave me a heart attack, and now's not the time for... that."

Sasha: "Right. Got it. Only give you heart attacks when we've escaped.

 **Fiona gave her a deep frown and a stern look.**

Sasha: So... whatcha got?"

Fiona: _Relaxes and gives out a slight sigh_. "An escape plan. Probably."

Sasha: "Probably?"

Fiona: _puts her ear back to the door again_. "It's quiet out there. I think we can go back this way and find an exit."

Sasha: "Great! I found another magazine, by the way, so we're prepared for the wor…"

 **Before Sasha could finish her confident statement, the door downstairs broke and Psychos came crashing in, howling with excitement.**

Psycho: Oh my god! If we smash things with axes... THEY BREAK!

Sasha: "Quickly, quickly! Out the door!"

 **Meanwhile, on the other side of the camp…**

 **Rhys and Vaughn were running as fast they could on the sandy ground of the bandit camp. Fortunately for them, Loader-Bot's arrival caused the majority of bandits to turn their attention to him, giving them a chance to escape. However, as they quickly realized, they had taken a wrong turn. They came from the direction the girls had dashed towards, or atleast a spot close to that. Here, well…**

 **It seemed like bandits wanted to have this section of the camp tangled in high fences with spikes on top and to have nothing more, only fences.. as if the guy who planned out this whole area had some kind of sick, fence fetish.**

 **To the duo's major annoyance, these fences weren't making any sense. Some were straight and tall, and only holes in them allowed them to pass through. Other fences were lying flat on the ground which seemed great, until they realized they had to jump over huge, sharp spikes to get to the other side. After attempting to navigate this ludicrous obstical course Rhys ended up cutting his leg and Vaughn, his arm.**

Rhys: _gasping_ "There's only a few fences left, then… then to the right, around the corner, and then… gosh… then we keep close to this wall, that big spikey one surrounding the camp, and we finally reach our van…"

Vaughn: "Which big spikey one?"

Rhys: "That big spikey one." **He pointed across the field of big spikey fences at a big spikey fence**.

Vaughn: "Right. I see... the one THAT'S BIG AND HAS LOTS OF SPIKES?! These all look the same! What are you pointing at?!"

Rhys: "Nevermind. It's fine. Just follow me. I've got this, okay?"

Vaughn: "Okay. Great, uh, great… Can we stop and rest once we pass through all these damn fences?"

Rhys: "No, buddy, we go… and run… until we... Oh my god, I hate this... until we reach the… van."

Vaughn: "Maybe you should check on… Loader-Bot… we kinda need him to… to… just see how he's doing, okay?"

Rhys: "Sure thing, buddy."

 **Both of them stopped to catch their breath, and Rhys charged up his arm holo-screen once again. This time, though, the screen was reluctant to give a clear view of loader bot's situation.**

Rhys: "Loader-bot, you all right? Huh?"

Loader-Bot: _With interferences_ "I am lying on the ground. Skags of doom have brought me down."

Rhys: "You gonna be okay?"

Loader-Bot: "I'm afraid one of these creatures have bitten off my leg-motors. I am currently simulating pain... excruciating pain."

Rhys: "Loader-Bot, hey, just, evacuate, okay? Stop fighting them and just fly away, meet us near the van, right? Buddy?"

Loader-Bot: "I fear I…"

Psycho: "LOOK, IT'S A PRETTY, YELLOW JUNK-BOX OF GUNS!"

 **A sudden BOOM, and the video feed disappeared.**

Vaughn: "Is that, uhh, is that… bad?"

Rhys: "They got Loader-Bot, my… MY Loader-Bot! Come on, Vaughn, we have to go! To the van, now!"

 **Both guys started rushing through the last fences, eager to reach the van as soon as possible and craft a new plan there. Rhys was a bit faster though. While Vaughn was struggling to get through the hole in the final fence, Rhys was already making his way around the corner.**

 **After reaching the wall they were safe.**

Vaughn: Oooooh! This big spikey wall! You should've said.

 **All that was left was to keep to the wall and reach the van on the other side…**

 **POW!**

 **The sudden gunshot startled Rhys so much he fell on his butt. Luckily, the bullet only hit the ground near his feet. As he got up, he couldn't believe what he saw. It was a bandit, most likely a marauder – spinning like crazy with a sniper rifle gripped tightly in his hands.**

Rhys: "What, umm… What are you doing... sir?"

Marauder: "Silence, kid! I will do this, I will…"

Rhys: "Uh... Do what exactly?"

Marauder: "I WILL 360-NOSCOPE YOU, YOU LITTLE PUNK!"

 **Rhys smiled and unexpectedly stood his ground, whilst a gasping Vaughn approached him from behind.**

Vaughn: "Rhys, what are you… HE'S GOT A GUN! AND HE'S SPINNING! RUN, RHYS!"

Rhys: "No, no. Wait Vaughn. Mr. Sniper bandit here wants to show us a little trick, don't you?"

Marauder: _Still spinning_ "Shut up and stay still!"

Rhys: "See, our friend here seems to be trying to achieve a… what did he say? A 360-noscope kill? So let's see how he does it."

Vaughn: "Rhys, what are… what are you doing?"

Rhys: "Trust me, Vaughn, look at him!"

Marauder: "I AM LEET!"

Rhys: "Please... this pathetic little bandit couldn't even hit a Rakk Hive if it was…"

 **BOOM!**

Rhys: "… See?"

 **Unfortunately, Vaughn couldn't answer in a clear and coherent sentence, because he was lying on the ground... screaming... and his ankle had a big hole in it the size of a huge bullet.**

Rhys: _Kneeling down next to Vaughn_ "Oh, shit! Buddy, don't leave me! Breathe, breathe, I'll get us out of here!"

 **Rhys turned around, pulling his stun baton… and he was met with a blow to the face from the butt of the marauder's gun. The last thing he saw before hitting the ground was Vaughn's bleeding leg, and the last thing he heard was** "I did it, I FINALLY DID IT, HAHAHAHAHA! Get rekt, you stupid scrubs!"

 **At the same time, in the southern outskirts of the camp, where the deal originally went awry…**

 **The two sisters were lying on the ground with aching all over, arms tied up in some weird kind of material. Fiona's nose was bleeding, while Sasha had a split eyebrow. There were skags all around them, growling and occasionally snapping at them with their huge mouths. Only the bandits that surrounded them them kept the skags from tearing their flesh from their bones.**

Sasha: "Great escape plan, sis'. Worked like a charm."

Fiona: "Oh, shut up. How was I supposed to know that behind that door was a mute-nomad? At least you didn't get punched by him… I think my poor nose is broken… ahhh, my mouth tastes wierd."

Sasha: "Yeah? I ONLY got kicked by his leg, right? What're we going to do, sis'? Loader-Bot hasn't moved in a while, and I don't like how his leg looks. Do you think the boys made it…"

 **Right as she spoke, a proud bandit wielding a sniper rifle entered the square. Turns out he was leading some kind of procession, which consisted of two bandits, pushing wheelcarts containing… their Hyperion pals. Rhys was knocked out, and Vaughn seemed to have also lost his consciousness. Plus, his leg had a pretty big hole in it, poorly bandaged up with a dirty rag.**

 **Bandits pushed the carts towards the girls and dumped both of their friends on the ground without any kind of ceremony. Both of them had their arms tied up with the same kind of rugged cloth as the girls.**

Sasha: "… Nevermind."

 **While Vaughn was still deep in dream land, Rhys began to slowly wake up.**

Rhys: "Uhhh, my head… What happened? Are we... in our van?.."

 **He quickly realized they surely weren't in their 'good old' van.**

Sasha: "Hey, Rhys. Sleep well?"

Rhys: "Huh? Oh, not particularly. I had a really bad dream where… Wait, are you bleeding? Are you injured, what happened? Where's Loader-Bot?!"

Fiona: "We got caught by surprise. Loader-Bot is over there, lying on the ground." **She gestured in the direction of a seemingly derelict loader.** "Rhys, it doesn't look too good. I dunno if he's gonna make it…"

Rhys: "These goddamn bandits! I'll kill them all! You hear me, I'll… I'll…"

 **A bandit broke from the crowd and approached Rhys, pointing a gun at him.**

Bandit: "You're gonna do what, hero?"

Rhys: "N-nothing, j-just… nothing. Carry on… sir."

Bandit: "Oh, ok then. I'll just be on my way. But I'm not going alone. Stand up, sunshines. All of you."

 **The sisters rose slowly, but surely. So did Rhys. However, Vaughn was still unconscious. The bandit walked over to him, kicked him in the side. But Vaughn didn't move a muscle. The bandit lifted him up and dumped him back into one of the wheelcart, then went behind it and started pushing it himself.**

 **Slowly, but surely, the procession moved. The psychos were running in front, doing flips and screaming their typical nonsense. After them, a close circle of bandits and marauders, carrying rifles, guarding our heroes, which were walking slowly in the center of said circle. Around the circle, skags were darting back and forth, anxious to sink their teeth into meat of whatever kind.**

 **They made their way deeper and deeper into the camp, with more marauders and psychos joining them the further in they went. Finally, after good five minutes of walking, they stopped. The three conscious captives strained to see what had they had been braught before. In front of the large group was a huge pedestal and a large throne resting on top of it, which was completely vacant at that moment. Everyone stopped what they were doing and silence more or less settled in throughout the camp.**

Rhys: "Umm, what… What are we waiting for, exactly?"

Sasha: "Shut up, idiot, you're gonna get hit agai…"

 **She couldn't even finish her words before one of the bandit's turned and thrust the butt of his gun into Rhys' face.**

Rhys: "Ow! Ow, ow! Okay, okay. I'm silent. Like a grave in the night…"

 **Rhys head jolted back from another strike to the face.**

Rhys: "Okay!"

Fiona: "Just shut up, you…"

 **Fiona didn't get to vocalize the insulting words she had intended to say. Without any warning, skags started to bark and growl joyfully and with excitement. The heroes started to look around, trying to locate the source of the Skags' sudden burst of joy. There wasn't much they could see, what with all the bandits surrounding them, but of what they could see, nothing out of ordinary was occurring. Until...**

Bandit Lord: "My little snuggle-puppies, my love bringers… I mean my Skags, my death makers! Come to me and I shall… give you food!"

 **From behind the pedestal, a huge figure emerged. All the Skags around them rushed to him, still making noises of joy. Soon the figure was covered in Skags – little ones climbing on his shoulders, while the bigger ones were running around his feet.**

Bandit Lord: "Aww, look at you, cute… deadly biters! I love… loathe you so much! But let me deal with this first, my Skaggies. Daddy… Ahem... your boss has work to do."

 **All the skags started to slowly back away from "daddy", finally giving Rhys, Fiona and Sasha a chance to look at him through the commotion. And boy, he was like nothing they ever seen before. He faced his captives and began to approach them. Some of the bandits moved out of the way, allowing them finally see him without any obstructions in the way.**

 **The trio exchanged confused looks, because they've never seen a bandit like this before, especially someone who held the position of 'bandit lord'. Despite the seriousness of the situation, Rhys looked like he could break out giggling any second. He quickly snapped back to attention when Sasha gave him one hell of a "death stare".**

Death TeAmo: "Oh, what do we have here? Cuddly huggly… I mean dumb, stupid, arrogant tricksters, who thought they could get away without hugging… being punished?"

 **The trio remained silent, because clearly the bandit lord wanted to monologue for a bit.**

Death TeAmo: "You see, I'm merely a business man. One who loves… oh, yes, LOVES to KILL. And you, my sweet… cruel tricksters, are trying to rob me! An honest business man! So, idiots, which one of you leads this loveable… pathetic group?"

 **The trio exchanged looks again. After a few seconds of uncomfortable silence, Fiona stepped forward, causing Sasha to give her a worried look.**

Fiona: "I do."

Death TeAmo: _Stares at Fiona for a moment before leaning in towards her_. "Okay, darling… rakkhead, then why don't you tell me... why were you trying to con me out of my money? And did you SERIOUSLY think that my besties… my servants wouldn't notice your con? Well? Tell me, my little biscuit... er... you dirty scum!"

* * *

 **Fiona Choice:**

 **[Suck it] - WINNER  
**

 **[Forgive us]**

 **[This is a misunderstanding]**

 **[...]**

* * *

 **So that's the first chapter. I hope you enjoyed this. If you did, then you should be glad to know there's more to come! Please rate and review. All critisizms are welcome. I want this to be great. Can't be great if no one tells us it's flaws!  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**Just a reminder. Remember that this version of the fanfiction does not contain the photoshopped images, nor will you be able to vote on the choice due to the fact I post this version after the vote count is in. If you want to check out the original with the images, check out the Rhysha thread on Telltale's forums and if you want to be involved in the vote you'll probably have to be a regular visitor to the thread since you'll likely miss the chapter and vote if you're not. Not sure if I can announce when the vote/chapter has been published in the thread, here to give you a heads up, so that's something I might have to figure out. Anyway, that's the last time, I'll remind you about the difference between the original version and this one. From here on, I'll only note the page the original is on for those that may want to check out the original.**

 **Chapter 2 of the original is on page 184 of the Official Rhysha Thread of Telltale's forums.**

* * *

Yes, yes, I know - it's been a while. I apologize sincerely for the very long pause between the first and the second chapters of our fiction. But, what's in the past is in the past, and I hope you will like this chapter as much as you liked the first!

I want to remind you fellas one more time - you'll have to vote for a choice at the end of the chapter, because this story is (actually) tailored by how you play. ;) Before every choice, there shall be a picture to show whose choice it is.

A quick reminder - the last choice was Fiona's, and it was **[Suck it]**. Anyway, without wasting your time any longer, I leave you with:

* * *

 **Act 1 - "The Deal"**

 **Chapter 1 - "Captured"**

Death TeAmo: _Stares at Fiona for a moment before leaning in towards her_. "Okay, darling… rakkhead, then why don't you tell me... why were you trying to con me out of my money? And did you SERIOUSLY think that my besties… my servants wouldn't notice your con? Well? Tell me, my little biscuit... er... you dirty scum!"

Fiona: "What do you know about bandits, ermm… bandit?"

Death TeAmo: "…What?"

Fiona: "I can tell you what we know. We know you're big, we know you're strong. We know you like to kill a lot and raid a lot. But, see, just like fire loses to water, you lose to smart people. So that's my answer – we decided to con you, because you're big, dumb and stupid. And your plushy bunny sucks."

 **Silence fell across the camp as TeAmo stared at Fiona, unable to process what she just said. Bandits all around were waiting for some kind of a response from their leader, but he was simply shocked.**

 **Unexpectedly, the silence was broken by Rhys' giggling like a small child. Sasha and Fiona turned to look at him, his maniacle laughter seeming to be that of a madman, while Death TeAmo gasped in a mix of horror and embarassment.**

Death TeAmo: "You think this it funny?! This is funny for you, you cruel, loveable… hateable meanies!"

 **The trio exchanged looks. From the way he spoke, it sounded like the bandit lord was close to tears.**

Death TeAmo: "You mean, mean bullies! My bunny is a bloodlusty killing machine which could bite your faces off, not some plushy cutie who SUCKS! I hate you!"

 **To everyone's suprise, TeAmo suddenly and swiftly stepped forward and struck Fiona with the back of his hand, causing her to fall to the ground. Immediatly afterwards he turned and punched Rhys in the stomach. He cried out in a squeaky voice.**

Rhys: "Ouch, ouch. That one… really hurt."

Death TeAmo: "You… you monsters, how dare you insult me like that! You heard them, boys! They called us dumb! Stupid, even! Beat 'em and throw them into a soft bed… I mean LOCK THEM UP! SEPARATELY!"

 **Death TeAmo went off, murmuring to himself, something along the lines of "What a bunch of bullies…".**

 **Teamo's bandit minions didn't hesitate a moment. The order had been given, and they were the ones to carry it out. The trio was unable to resist the bandits' forceful grabs. Fiona was lying on the ground and Rhys still gasping for air. Sasha was the only one who tried to kick her way out of the situation, however her efforts were quickly overwhelmed by the effort of numerous marauders.**

 **Being the quirky weirdos they were, for some peculiar reason the bandits understood the order** "SEPARATELY!" **as to separate the group by gender. Ordinarily gender meant almost nothing in the barren wastelands of Pandora, but these bandits had taken a shine to creatively interpreting their instructions. One could suppose that it gave them some meaning or freedom to their underling role. Such was the fate of a common mook.**

 **Or at least that's what could be surmised from a random psycho rambling on in the corner about his creative freedoms. Either way, the group was seperated thusly.  
Sasha was quickly dragged off with Fiona, and Rhys dumped on Vaughn in the cart and pushed away. Then, Rhys did something that... no... he spoke to... that's not it...**

Marcus: "Uh... wait wait, hold on, I've got this. So Rhys and Vaughn were in the cart and the girls were being dragged towards the back of the camp and... no... no, I have no idea what they were doing. They were just getting taken to a place.  
Give me a break, getting taken to another part of the camp is not exactly a memorable part of the story... eh, you don't need to hear it. Don't give me that face... don't worry about it, you're not missing anything interesting. 'Ahem', so where was I?  
Ah, yes.."

 **Some time later, at night…**

 **Fiona and Sasha were in a small tent, sitting on the plain old dirty ground, tied up to a pole in such a way that their backs were facing one another. Their prison was tiny, yet filthy as humanly possible. There were small bones scattered all around them, clearly some blood (is there a place in this camp where there is no blood?), a bunch of old, dirty posters and a broken gun. When Sasha first saw the weapon lying on the ground, she was ecstatic – dumbass bandits left a gun for them! Her joy soon died when she saw a rat come out from the barrel of a gun.**

Marcus: "I should clarify that this was no bandit gun. It was an old Torgue gun, with a huge barrel for firing those iconic explosive casts. Torgue combines good damage, high fire rate and recoil reduction into one lethal weapon! You can buy them now at... er, sorry, sorry, I can't help myself."

 **Despite their looks that any sane person would think were charged with insanity and stupidity both, some bandits obviously knew how to tie up prisoners. The sisters' wrists soon began to ache from the tightness of their bonds. At first, they tried to somehow wriggle out of the ropes, but to no avail.**

 **After many exhausting attempts to break free, the duo succumbed and tried to regain some strength. They knew that in the morning, their lives would probably be done or at least made very miserable.**

Sasha: "Hey sis'… How are you? That punch looked like it packed a lot of power." **Sisters hadn't spoken much since they were thrown in the tent.**

Fiona: "I've been better, but it's nothing lethal. By the morning I should be okie-dokie."

Sasha: "I think by the morning we'll have bigger things to worry about." **She laughed to herself quietly.** "Hey, do you think they're gonna kill us or cuddle us?"

 **Fiona smiled before answering.**

Fiona: "That depends on just how soft their leader is. So far, he seems… strange, to say the least."

Sasha: "Didn't stop him from laying some smackdown on you."

 **From the silence on Fiona's side, Sasha quickly understood that she shouldn't have mentioned it.**

Sasha: "Sorry Fi. Didn't mean for it to sound like that. Let's try to get some sleep, maybe?"

Fiona: "How do you plan to sleep when those assholes are partying right around the corner? **She struggled to swing her torso in the right position to see or hear what was going on.** Seems like their raiding party found lots of booze out there…"

 **Fiona was right. Just before the night settled in, bandits returned to the camp, carrying loot from their day-raid. They managed to get quite a lot of boxes of alcohol too, so now the camp was celebrating.**

Sasha: "I could go for a drink right now. My throat is parched."

Fiona: "Even if it was Skag-piss wine? Like the one Felix got that one time from a grateful client?"

 **Both sisters chuckled.**

Sasha: "Well, maybe not that one. But anything else would do. Then again... hey, what are the chances bandits wouldn't be drinking skag piss?"

 **They remained silent for some time, listening to bandits screaming and occasionally shooting something.**

Sasha: "Hey Fi. Do you think the boys are okay? Especially Vaughn, it didn't seem he woke up…"

Fiona: "I don't know Sash. My bet would be on "better than expected", but you never know."

Sasha: "Fi, I don't want to sound depressing or anything like that, but… is this it? I mean, it's not like anyone can help us now."

Fiona: "Don't think like that, Sasha. We always get out of these kinds of situations, whether it's due to coincidence or... something more reliable than coincidence." **She grimaced and instinctively switched her gaze, despite not even facing her younger sister.**

Sasha: "You always think about the positive side of things, don't you?"

Fiona: "I have to. No-one else will."

Sasha: _sighs_ "I guess you're right. Vaughn is always the first to panic, and Rhys is acting like a coward if he's not being over-confident most of the time."

Fiona: "What about you, Sash?" _smiling_ "You never seem to back down."

Sasha: "I know, it's just… I get tired of it. Every day, we face life-threatening dangers. And you always have to just... deal with it, keep moving forward, keep fighting against the odds. It's… soul-sucking, you know?"

Fiona: "I know, sis'."

Sasha: "And you can never be what you want to be here. You're either the hunter or the one being hunted down. You're killed or you kill. No middle ground. Dog eat dog. Every woman for herself."

 **The** **sisters shared a moment of silence. Fiona completely understood what Sasha w** **as going** **through. In Pandora, you can't be** **who you want to be** **.** **If you were to show a** **ny kind of** **positive or all-round pleasant** **emotion, any sign of doubt** **or hesitation in your actions** **and** **the next thing you know your upper half is hanging from a rusty meathook and the rest of you is skag-meat** **. The only thing** **on this godforsaken planet** **you can** **place your** **trust** **in** **is your friends, and even then, they're not** **entirely reliable or even worth that trust. Often they prove to you very directly that your trust is ill-placed** **… Even when they're family.**

 **Fiona couldn't just sit quietly and do nothing. Sasha's hopelessness and** **unwillingness** **to fight only worked to fuel her inner fire. She started writhing again, trying to get** **free** **of the ropes.**

Sasha: "Seriously Fi? It hasn't worked before, it won't work now."

Fiona: "We have to do something, Sasha. We've gotta try! Nobody's going to take care of us and nobody is coming to save us. It's just you and me, like always."

Sasha: "And the boys."

Fiona: "And the boys. I'm sure they haven't given up, we can't let those nerds one up us, can we?!"

Sasha: _deep sigh_ "Screw this. The one who gets out first gets dibs to shoot the leader of this pathetic camp right in his little, pathetic face!"

Fiona: "Deal!"

 **Meanwhile,** **on** **the other side of the camp…**

 **Bandits clearly didn't value the escaping** **prowess** **of Hyperion** **employees greatly** **.** **The** **two bros were locked in a** **metal** **cage** **that was quite obviously not built for humans** **,** **and clearly the** **bandits** **had decided that this was enough to hold them indefinately, choosing to** **unti** **e** **them before throwing them in** **, so that they may use the binds for something more important, like using them as blindfolds and playing blind games such as whack the meat pinata, or pin the stabby thing on the meatbag, or anything in general to do with damaging fleshy organ bits** **. Maybe they thought that th** **is skag cage was** **enough** **to hold two intelligent, capable humans** **, maybe they** **were empathetic enough to understand Vaughn's predicament and** **wanted Rhys to take care of** **his** **wound if he started getting worse** **, as unlikely and absurb that sounds** **.** **Rhys turned to look at his unconscious friend.**

Rhys: Hang in there buddy. We're gonna make it through this.

 **The bandits** **had** **dropped them off like trash and went away laughing and joking about "fresh Hyperion meat". Rhys was doing his best to** **stay positive and believe that they weren't** **literally thinking about… his flesh** **. He instead mentally proposed the thought that they were using the word as some kind of metaphor or analogy of some kind. Though the results of which would still likely end in his horrific, painful death by their hands. Rhys then opted not to give it much thought at all** **. He** **turned his attention to some** **faint noises coming from the other side of the camp. Rhys assumed the bandits were partying, but he couldn't know for sure,** **as** **they were too far away** **for him to accurately determine their level of excitement. It was just as likely to be a party as it was to be coherent shouts from overly excited psychos getting worked up over nothing** **. Plus, the** **nearby** **growling** **noises** **didn't make it easier to hear** **what was transpiring in the distance** **…**

 **The** **two** **had been** **placed in a cage near hundreds of the same kind,** **the only alteration being the contents, with the rest** **contain** **ing** **skags. A LOT of skags. Rhys assumed the bandit lord was some kind of skag lover, but he** **hadn't expected there to be** **so many of them. It seemed like the whole** **section** **of the camp** **had been** **dedicated solely for the skag cages. Hell, this bandit could overrun any Hyperion facility on Pandora with** **the sheer amount** **of these terrifying creatures** **at his disposal. That's assuming they're all fully tamed that is** **.** **Though he had little doubt about that.**

 **He could** **tell** **that** **all** **skags were cared for here.** **Every single one of** **the cages Rhys could see were surprisingly clean** **(** **-ish** **)** **, and none were overpopulated, so that the Skags could move** **about** **freely.**

 **Despite their better-than-average living conditions, these Skags were** **surely** **merciless murder machines, no doubt about that. Any time Rhys locked eyes with one of them, they started growling** **and grumbling** **like they haven't been fed for weeks and he was a juicy slice of meat. Which he actually was, if judged by skag's point of view.**

Rhys: "Hey, it's all skin and bones, pal."

 **Rhys knew he was going crazy when he started contemplating whether it'd be poetical justice for him to be eaten, since he still was wearing those beloved skag-hide shoes of his, and** **whether** **skags would be considered cannibals for eating them** **up along with him** **. Unfortunately,** **to** **contemplate was all he could do, since Vaughn ha** **d** **n't regained his consciousness yet. Rhys was wondering how a leg wound could've injured his friend so badly – maybe it was poisoned?**

Rhys: "No way it was poisoned. That's just stupid." **He spoke loudly, earning more than a few glances from skags all around him. Rhys knew it wasn't poisoned. He was just trying to distract himself from the depressing thoughts, which were circling his mind like a bunch of Rakk** **circling their prey** **.**

 **It was his fault that Vaughn got shot, his damn smug attitude. Because of it, his best friend is lying nearby unconscious. The girls were captured too, and** **he didn't know** **what** **had** **become of them.** **He** **hoped they were as** **unharmed and as ready to escape** **as** **was** **possible, refus** **ing** **to accept any other thought** **, having convinced himself of it** **.**

Vaughn: "Bagels… soggy bagels… I hate it…"

 **Rhys jumped up, bumping his head hard at the top of the cage.**

Rhys: Aaaah! Ooh! Ooooow ow ow!

 **Vaughn's sudden bagel** **-laced** **words** **had** **scared him to no end. He crouched and approached Vaughn** **with great care** **. Rhys carefully shook him by his shoulder.** **The money-man** **didn't respond in any way.** **Or at least he didn't respond in any coherent way that would suggest some level of consciousness.**

Vaughn: Nooooo... put the butter on the... we there yet?!

Rhys: _Sighing_ "He was just dreaming… Well, if he can dream he's probably just catching some zees. Nothing to worry about." **Rhys had somehow convinced himself of this as a valid reason to believe in Vaughn's safety.**

 **To be sure, Rhys lightly smacked Vaughn across the face. All it did was make** **him** **open his mouth and burp loudly.**

Rhys: "Dude, are you unconscious or just having an after-dinner nap time?"

 **Disappointed** **, yet somewhat relieved** **, Rhys crawled away, back to his spot in the center of the cage. Vaughn burping only reminded him of how hungry he was. He ha** **d** **n't eaten since th** **is** **morning, before the con. And then he only ate some eggs, nothing more. He was too nervous to eat anything properly. He couldn't refuse Sasha's eggs though. Even if he didn't like them at first, they've surprisingly become his favourite dish. The way she cooked them, with love and attention, always made Rhys' mouth water. And she never refused to make them, which was another plus.** **Of course it took a lot of practice and intense food induced vomiting to get there.**

 **His stomach growled loudly. Rhys rubbed it with one hand while looking around the cage for maybe 100** **th** **time already.** **Perhaps** **there were some leftovers from previous prisoners…**

Handsome Jack: "Booyah, kiddo! Missed me?!"

 **Rhys jumped up again, not high enough to hit his head this time though. Of course, there he stood – as always, confident and handsome. Jack, his uninvited guest, taking residence inside his head. Rhys** **had** **learnt to to live with him in time, since there was no way of extracting him out in Pandora, and he couldn't get back to Helios. On the plus side, Jack became less annoying as time went by (or atleast Rhys got used to it) and he sometimes even proved to be helpful. Right now, however…**

Jack: "Well lookie here, what's this? Last time I popped up out of your little head, you were in a van, comfortably sitting around and plotting to rob some dumbass bandit. What happened, did your besties fuck up on a grand scale, as they usually do?"

Rhys: *sigh* "Please, Jack. Now's not the time."

Jack: "What're you talking about, sweetheart? It's always time for me, baby. So… _looks around_ * Not a very comfortable prison, huh? No diamond encrusted chairs, no hot chicks. Hell, they couldn't even get some lighting in here?"

Rhys: "I never asked them to. I like being in the dark, you know?"

Jack: "Oh, I know who you'd like to get with in the dark, eh buddy? *winks*

Rhys: *facepalms* "You're unbelievable."

Jack: "Who, me? Sweetie, I'm one of a kind! I always thought you could take a little dirty joke. Sooo… I guess no fancy continental breakfast in an expensive restaurant? You know, Pandoran expensive; as in not covered in dirt and with no rats inside. I mean... this is still Pandora, last time I checked."

 **Rhys didn't respond. Instead, he just sat on the ground and closed his eyes.**

Jack: "Hey, hey! Don't you go asleep on me now! You never know what's gonna… Just what the heck is this?"

 **Rhys turned his head to see that Jack has almost stepped on ever unconscious Vaughn.**

Rhys: "THIS is Vaughn. Obviously."

Jack: "Huh. Interesting. Last time I saw him… *pokes Vaughn with his holo-finger* this dork was able to move around and speak. It was barely speech though, more like a series of spits and numbers, but it was something. So... what's going on here?"

 **Rhys didn't answer again, he just closed his eyes and tried to relax.**

 **Unfortunately, Jack wasn't so easy to get rid of.**

Jack: "You tell me everything now, dum-dum. At first I thought you really loved hanging out in cages, maybe some fetish of yours, but now this seems a tad more… serious, you know?"

Rhys: "What's there to tell? The plan failed, we got caught, now we're separated and in cages. That about cover it?"

Jack: **Sits down near Rhys** "So, basically… you and your besties fucked up on a grand scale? I knew it, you idiots can't do anything right!"

Rhys: "You're not helping. Plus, you're stuck in one of those idiot's head, so you might want to be a little concerned."

Jack: "Come on, Rhysie, I was joking! Just some good ol' Handsome Jack humour! You're not gonna cry on me now, are you? Because I'm not good with that kind of stuff. The only tears I enjoy are those of my enemies."

Rhys: "Can't you stop being such a god damn moron and just HELP ME?! FOR ONCE!"

 **That was enough to shut Jack up, surprisingly. After a few seconds of silence, Jack stood up and took a few steps away from Rhys, who was still sitting on the ground.**

Jack: "I would enjoy strangling you so much right now, but… Okay, okay... _sighs..._ You're not recording this, right?... Okay... Dang it… I'm sorry. All right? Maybe I pushed a _little_ too much. This is not the end of the world, Rhysie! Cheer up!

Rhys: "How am I supposed to cheer up when I'm locked in a cage with my unconscious best friend who, by the way, is unconcious because of me and a psycopathic hologram? My other two friends are somewhere in the camp too, locked away, just like us! There's no way out of here!"

Jack: _sighs_ "Look, Rhys. You wanna know how you become the world's champion? You can't rise to the top of the food chain if you're whining and… giving up, you catching my drift, cupcake? You can't just sit here like a... a sad, rain soaked bag of skag-meat and wait until something gobbles you up. You gotta show those dumb bitches how a winner is made! And I can show you how, because I'm the winner!

Rhys: "What… what are you talking about?"

Jack: **Crouches near Rhys** "Look around, sugar. Observe your surroundings. No great man has risen into greatness without getting in real trouble at least once. What's the first thing you notice around here? The first really important thing?"

Rhys: "Uhh, we're behind bars?.."

Jack: "No, you moron… Okay, I'll spoil this one – there are no guards around. The only thing standing between you and sweet, sweet freedom are those bars you just mentioned! **Stands up.** First step of being a champion – never give up!"

Rhys: "You know you sound really cliché, right?"

Jack: "You know how does a man being choked sounds?"

Rhys: "No…"

Jack: "Shut up before you find out."

 **Rhys wanted to object, but decided against it.** **Th** **is decision was heavily influenced by the looks Jack was giving him** **, which could only be described as a strange half-way point between anger fueled seriousness and friendly sarcasm. He wasn't up for discovering which it was, regardless of Jack's holographic predicament** **.**

Jack: "Now, kiddo, the second step – never give up on your crew. I never did, and now they're all, uh... well, successful? In a manner of speaking, at least. Better than nothing. None of them are dead... Well, most of them aren't, anyway. What I mean to say is shake that nerd until he wakes up! If it doesn't work, I can show you some very good strangulation techniques that…"

Rhys: "OKAY, okay! No need for the gruesome details, I don't plan on becoming a psychopath any time soon."

 **Rhys once again carefully approached Vaughn. By the look of it, Vaughn ha** **d** **n't moved one bit** **since he last checked** **. Only a drip of saliva across his cheek proved that he was still a functioning human being (somewhat).**

Jack: "See? I was right about the spit."

 **Rhys sighed. Jack was unstoppable when he started something** **. Whether it was something as grand as conquoring a planet or as small as pestering someone with his jokes, he was unrelenting** **.** **His tenacity** **was a good thing... sometimes.**

 **Rhys turned his attention back to Vaughn. He started with gently shaking Vaughn's shoulders. No reaction. Rhys shook harder. Still nothing. It seemed that Rhys' best bro was keen on remaining** **in happy dream land** **.**

Jack: "Are you stupid or what? Stop shaking him like you want to shag him. Take me! Take me, Vaughn! Slap him hard, like you're trying to kill a mosquito!"

Rhys: "Are… are you sure? I mean, that's not the best way to wake up…"

Jack: "Just do it, dum-dum. I know what I'm talking about."

Rhys: But...

Jack: _Sighs_ Listen... Just... visualise your beloved Sasha's ass and slap it like you've been dreaming to do since you met her!

Rhys: What?

Jack: Do it!

 **Rhys looked at Vaughn, who seemed to** **be** **sleeping** **peacefully** **.** **This** **won't** **be nice, but if it** **'s** **the only way…**

 **He took a quick breath,** **inhaling sharply** **and slapped Vaughn across the face with his** **human** **hand.** **Vaughn's head jolted sideways, but other than that there was no response.**

Jack: No... C'mon Cupcakes! Put your back behind it!

 **Rhys frowned and shifted his weight, raising his mechanical arm into the air.**

Jack: That's what I'm talking about! Sweet, hyperion issued justice!

 **Rhys threw his hand down upon Vaughn's tender, unsuspecting face like a far less majestic version of a lion ready to pounce on a poor, unsuspecting, ripped, nerdy deer.**

 **He managed to put a fair amount of force behind it, leaving a large red mark on his face and making a sharp sound that even made Rhys reel back.** **Suddenly…**

Vaughn: "OWWW! Ow! Ow! Aah! What... what? What's happening?"

 **Vaughn became agitated and started to move around strangely. Rhys grabbed him by the arms and shook a little sense into him.**

Rhys: "Vaughn, buddy! You're alive again!"

Vaughn: "What's going on? Where are we? **He felt the side of his face and grimaced.** Why does me cheek hurt as hell?"

Jack: "Hahahahaha! Oh may god... did you see the look on his face?! Priceless! _Wipes a non-existant tear way from his eye._ Ahhhh... I said it'd help!"

Rhys: "It's okay, take it easy. We're locked in some kind of skag cage, in the same camp."

Vaughn: "How did we get here? WHAT HAPPENED?"

Rhys: "Shhh, you're gonna wake up the skags, they've alrady calmed down since we got here. There's not a lot to tell you really, I mean... uh... let's think. **Rhys began making gestures with his hands.** Uhhh... We got captured... Fiona pissed off the big bandit guy...

Vaughn: Big bandit guy?!

Rhys: Yeah, he was pretty, uh, large. He was kinda wierd though... Anyway, we got seperated and thrown in here. You've been unconscious ever since you've got… uhh... shot.

Vaughn: "Shot… Ow, my leg!"

 **It seemed like Vaughn only then remembered that he ha** **d** **been shot earlier. He reached for his leg with both of his hands, grabbing it tightly.**

Vaughn: "Ahhh, the pain, it's…

Rhys: What's the pain like?

Vaughn: Well, there's a lot of it... It's bandaged though... did the bandits do this? How considerate… Wait, maybe it's infected already? Will I turn into a psycho now?!"

Rhys: "No, no, buddy, you won't. Try to relax though, fretting about it'll only make it worse."

Vaughn: "Wait… It's your fault that I was shot! You let that idiot try to quick scope or whatever he was doing!"

Rhys: "Uhhh, well… Technically…"

Vaughn: "I could have lost a leg because of that! What hell were you doing? Do you like letting them your friends, or what?!"

Jack: "Seems like you have awoken THE nerd. Beware of his wrath!"

Rhys: "Hey, Vaughn, calm down, ok? I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, it won't happen again. Please forgive your old Rhys for screwing up, okay? Please?"

 **Rhys pouted and gace Vaughn puppy eyes.**

Vaughn: "I would punch you so hard if I could right now."

Rhys: "Well, it seems I'm in luck then!

 **Vaughn** **threw** **Rhys a** **n unforgiving glare** **.**

Rhys: "Right! I'm seriously sorry. Forgive me, bro. Brofist?"

Vaughn: "I'll… ahhh, it hurts so much… I'll think about it. I still can't believe you let me get shot…"

Jack: "Ladies, if you're done, I'd like to remind you that we're still stuck in a disgusting ass cage. Unless you like the interior decorating so much you wouldn't want to break it? Just look at all that pretty grime and rust!"

Rhys: "Right. Vaughn, trust me, I'm getting us out of here. Can you walk or at least stand?"

Vaughn: "I'll try. Get ready to catch me."

 **Vaughn then took Rhys' arm with one hand and started pushing himself from the ground with** **the** **other. Gently, he stood on one leg. Very carefully, he placed his hurt leg on the ground. Slowly** **,** **he put the whole foot down and** **began** **to put his weight on it, grimacing the whole time. After a few seconds, he gasped from pain and lost his balance. Luckily, Rhys caught him just as he was about to fall.**

 **Jack: Heh, get a room you two!**

Vaughn: "Thanks… I think I can walk slowly. It's very painful, but I can do it. Slowly."

Rhys: "Good to know. Now…"

 **Just as Rhys said that word, a huge explosion erupted from somewhere in a camp. It caught our heroes completely by surprise, and Vaughn fell on his butt.**

Rhys: "What the hell was that?"

 **Seconds after, a huge cloud of smoke started** **erupting** **from roughly the center of the camp.** **A** **few seconds after that, the trio heard bandits screaming and running. Jack was the first to regain his** **composure** **.**

Jack: "Quick, Rhysie! Now's your chance!"

 **Meanwhile, back at the girls' tent…**

Sasha: "I'm almost out, Fiona. Looks like I get to call dibs on…"

Fiona: "In your dreams sis'! You're not the only one…"

 **Suddenly, their little competition was interrupted by a huge explosion not far away from them. They couldn't tell exactly how close it was because of the tent walls around them, but the sound was deafening.**

Sasha: "What the hell was that?!"

Fiona: "I don't know. Sounded way too close to be safe. By the way… _raises hands_ … I'm the first out!"

Sasha: "Not fair! But since you're free, check if it's safe to come out. This could be our only chance!"

 **Fiona carefully went to the exit of the tent and gently opened** **the wall flap that seperated her from the outside world** **, just enough to see what was going outside without revealing** **her** **self. She saw a bunch of psychos running towards the supposed explosion place, flailing their axes wildly.**

 **Psycho: I AM GOING TO EAT THE METAL DEMON! IRON IS GOOD FOR YOUR HEAMOGLOBIN!**

 **Fiona dared to open the** **flap** **a little bit more to see if any bandits were guarding the tent. To her surprise, there wasn't anyone there.**

Sasha: "See anything?"

 **Fiona literally jumped, scared to the bone.**

Fiona: "AaH! You're... Stop! **Sasha shifted her weight and stared at her sister.** If you're gonna keep doing this, we're gonna have a serious problem."

Sasha: "Right. Sorry. So... What's going on there?"

Fiona: "They're all running to the explosion site. Seems like our part of camp is mostly empty at the moment."

Sasha: "This is our chance! Let's go!"

Fiona: "Fighting spirit's back, huh?"

Sasha: "Let's do this, Fiona. No backsies."

 **Back near the skag cages…**

Jack: "Kick it, kick it open! More force, more soul! Imagine you're kicking your worst enemy's face!"

 **Rhys was gasping for air.** **His exhaustion from his flimsy kicks was getting the better of him** **. They needed to find a way to escape their cage, and Jack, after a quick examination of this tiny prison, found a weak bar** **close to** **the ground. Of course, since Jack is a hologram and Vaughn is injured, Rhys** **was the only one in a position** **to kick it open. And he hasn't kicked so much since pre-school sport classes.**

Jack: "I know you can do it, cupcake! Remember step one – never give up! Put your spirit into your foot and jam it into the bar!

 **Rhys' foot was going numb.** **By this point he'd** **kicked that stupid "weak" bar exactly 53 times, and it has barely moved** **or dented** **.**

Jack: "Kick it or you'll be skag-food in the morning! Kick it harder! HARDER!

Rhys: "OKAY, I'M TRYING!"

Vaughn: "Who are you talking to?"

Rhys: "Nobody… myself… stupid goddamn bar!"

 **Jack has finally managed to piss Rhys off. He started imagining that the bar was Jack's face, and a few kicks later…**

Jack: "That wasn't so hard, now, was it, cupcake?"

Rhys: "Please, shut up. For a few seconds is all I'm asking."

 **Despite Rhys having a numb foot, Vaughn had it worse. Getting him through the** **gap produced by the absence of the rusty bar** **was** **much** **harder than it** **first** **looked. Both Hyperion bros grunted angrily, one from pain, other from exhaustion. After some** **,** **more writhing like a wild snake, Vaughn was out of the cage too. With Rhys' help, he stood up and looked around.**

Vaughn: "Wow, that's… a lot of skags. What do we do now, though? We don't have a lot time, I assume. I mean explosions are probably normal for bandit camps, so they'll probably be back in a few."

Jack: "Apparently, sometimes even dorks are right. Tick-tock Rhysie, what are you gonna do? Third step-good winners always make their decisions on their own. What's it gonna be?

Rhys: "We're gonna…"

 **Just as he was about to finish his sentence, the t** **h** **r** **ee Hyperion tech heads** **heard heavy steps** **coming from** **around the corner. Even though the explosion was a booming distraction and an obviously big thing, some bandit assumed that it meant the prisoners were escaping. However ridiculous that logic was, it proved to be right this time** **around** **. The marauder was a few seconds away from turning the corner and seeing** **the** **Hyperion bros** **in the midst of their** **escape. No doubt he wouldn't** **be too pleased** **…**

Vaughn: "Rhys!" **Vaughn almost hissed.** "Do something!"

Jack: "Quickly, you stupid tortoise!"

Marauder: Man that was a scary explosion! I better go check on the prisoners! I hope nothing unsatisfactory has occured!

 **Rhys looked at Jack, who was making odd gestures at the Marauder, then he looked at Vaughn who was mouthing something unintelligable with a worried look plastered to his face. Finally Rhys stared at the corner which the bandit was about to turn in the very next moment.**

* * *

 **[Hide]**

 **[Knock him out] - WINNER  
**

 **[Talk it out]**

 **[Run]**

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please leave a review if you feel like it. I'd love to get some feedback. Anyways, I hope you look forward to the next chapter. See you there.  
**


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